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| Documentary The Thin Blue Line (1988), about man convicted and sentenced to life in prison for a murder he did not commit, ranked second best documentary of all time and made 35% of top fives. |
Welcome
to our Reel Fives pre-launch
movie rankings
for the best documentaries of all time. Our Reel Fives team has found 69
published ranked lists of the top documentaries published online and ended up
with 134 movies that made the list. For each ranked list of greatest movies for
the documentary genre, we have taken the top five ranked documentaries. The
movie rankings on top documentaries that we aggregated are included at the
bottom of this post and include rankings of the best movies in the documentary
genre created by movie experts as well as rankings from polling sites, such as
ranker.com.
Documentaries
take a specific perspective to tell a story. Some documentaries have more bias
than others. For example, most documentaries by director Michael Moore lean left
of center. His documentary Bowling for
Columbine (2002), ranked fourth, takes direct issue with gun rights
activists. Moore believes in strict gun control and despises the gun lobby’s
hold on congressional leaders. Sport documentaries may follow a team or players
of a given sport to show how challenging sports can be. Hoop Dreams (1994), ranked as the all-time best documentary, follows
two black teens who hope to earn a scholarship to play college basketball and
eventually enter the NBA. Crime stories are another popular theme in
documentaries. The Thin Blue Line
(1988), ranked second, proves the innocence of a wrongfully accused man. Other
documentaries take a first person account of historical events. Shoah (1985), ranked third, interviews
Holocaust survivors on their experiences to illustrate the strength of those
who survived it. Documentaries delve deeper into issues and offer more
information than other outlets, such as the news. In the end, good
documentaries engage the audience in a very personal way, often getting the
audience emotionally invested. They are able to achieve this through a
well-structured narrative that draws on visual elements in a way most books cannot.
In this way, documentaries truly bring to fruition the power of motion
pictures.
There
are many different potential subgenres for the documentary genre. War is a
popular subject for documentaries. Night
and Fog (1955), ranked sixth, describes the horrors of the Nazi regime
through narration, stills from the war news reels, and Hitler’s words. The Act of Killing (2012), ranked
twenty-second, asks the leaders of the Indonesian death squads to tell and show
how they killed people. Sports are another popular topic for documentaries. When We Were Kings (1996), ranked
seventeenth, documents a fight between boxers Mohammad Ali and George Foreman
in the country formerly known as Zaire. While boxing was the anchor of the
film, When We Were Kings (1996)
captures much more: a snapshot of African history and post-colonial politics, a
unique perspective of the US civil rights movement’s presence in Africa, and
the African American divide brought on by the Vietnam War. The food industry is
a recent topic of heightened interest among documentarians. Super Size Me (2004), ranked twelfth,
features a man restricting his diet to only McDonalds in order to show the dark
side of fast food. Food Inc. (2008),
ranked fifteenth, delves into the American food industry. What all of these
documentaries show is that there are multiple ways to tell a particular type of
story and that anything can be made into a documentary.
The
rankings do not favor any type of documentary or any subgenre in particular.
Instead, the rankings illustrate that audiences and critics enjoy documentaries
with personal touches. Hoop Dreams (1994),
ranked first, is not about a new topic, but it has a compelling story. Bowling for Columbine (2002) made gun
violence personal for not only students, but parents. Moore underscored the
importance of gun violence, but he refused the notion that this was an isolated
case. Moore and Michael Donovan won an Oscar for Best Feature Documentary in
2003. Moore has three other movies on the list. Where to Invade Next (2015), Moore’s newest documentary, has not
been ranked, and we are interested to see if (and where) it ends up on the
list. We were surprised to not see many nature documentaries take up any of the
top rankings aside from Planet Earth (2006), which ranked twenty-third. The
list also has a good mix of old and new documentaries, showing that some documentaries
are timeless and that is, in part, what makes them great.
| Top 134 Movies based on 69 published rankings | |
| Percent of online top fives movies appear shown on right hand side | |
| 1 . Hoop Dreams (1994): 34.7% | |
| 2 . The Thin Blue Line (1988): 34.7% | |
| 3 . Shoah (1985): 18.8% | |
| 4 . Bowling for Columbine (2002): 18.8% | |
| 5 . Grey Gardens (1975): 11.5% | |
| 6 . Night and Fog (1955): 11.5% | |
| 7 . Sans Soleil (1983): 10.1% | |
| 8 . Man on Wire (2008): 10.1% | |
| 9 . SpellBound (2001): 8.69% | |
| 10 . Harlan County U.S.A. (1976): 8.69% | |
| 11 . Man with a Movie Camera (1929): 7.24% | |
| 12 . Super Size Me (2004): 7.24% | |
| 13 . The Cove (2006): 7.24% | |
| 14 . The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters (2007): 7.24% | |
| 15 . Food Inc (2008): 5.79% | |
| 16 . Paris is Burning (1991): 5.79% | |
| 17 . When We Were Kings (1996): 5.79% | |
| 18 . Fahrenheit 9/11 (2004): 5.79% | |
| 19 . American Movie (1999): 5.79% | |
| 20 . Paradise Lost : The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills (1996): 4.34% | |
| 21 . Restrepo (2010): 4.34% | |
| 22 . The Act of Killing (2012): 4.34% | |
| 23 (tied). Titicut Follies (1967): 4.34% | |
| 23 (tied). Planet Earth (2006): 4.34% | |
| 25 . Nanook of the North (1922): 4.34% | |
| 26 . Capturing the Friedmans (2003): 4.34% | |
| 27 . Grizzly Man (2005): 4.34% | |
| 28 . Jiro Dreams of Sushi (2011): 2.89% | |
| 29 (tied). Dark Days (2000): 2.89% | |
| 29 (tied). Senna (2010): 2.89% | |
| 29 (tied). Capitalism: A love Story (2009): 2.89% | |
| 29 (tied). Don't Look Back (1967): 2.89% | |
| 29 (tied). Vernon, Florida (1982): 2.89% | |
| 29 (tied). Dear Zachary - A Letter to a Son About His Father (2008): 2.89% | |
| 35 (tied). Touching the Void (2003): 2.89% | |
| 35 (tied). Paradise Lost 2: Revelations (2000): 2.89% | |
| 37 (tied). The fog of war (2003): 2.89% | |
| 37 (tied). The World at War (1973): 2.89% | |
| 37 (tied). Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker’s Apocalypse (1991): 2.89% | |
| 37 (tied). Gates of Heaven (1978): 2.89% | |
| 41 (tied). The Up Series (1964): 2.89% | |
| 41 (tied). Roger & Me (1989): 2.89% | |
| 41 (tied). The Devil and Daniel Johnston (2006): 2.89% | |
| 44 (tied). Exit Through the Gift Shop (2010): 2.89% | |
| 44 (tied). Streetwise (1984): 2.89% | |
| 44 (tied). Stop making Sense (1984): 2.89% | |
| 47 (tied). Inside Job (2010): 2.89% | |
| 47 (tied). Enron the Smartest Guys in the Room (2005): 2.89% | |
| 49 (tied). Liter of Light (2015): 1.44% | |
| 49 (tied). Marwencol (2010): 1.44% | |
| 49 (tied). Dear America (1987): 1.44% | |
| 49 (tied). Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead (2010): 1.44% | |
| 49 (tied). When the levees broke (2006): 1.44% | |
| 49 (tied). Blood of the Beast (1949): 1.44% | |
| 49 (tied). 7 Up (1964): 1.44% | |
| 49 (tied). Louis Theroux: Most Hated Family in America (2007): 1.44% | |
| 49 (tied). Century of the Self (2005): 1.44% | |
| 49 (tied). Cave of Forgotten Dreams (2010): 1.44% | |
| 49 (tied). Meru (2015): 1.44% | |
| 49 (tied). An Inconvenient Truth (2006): 1.44% | |
| 49 (tied). Riding Giants (2004): 1.44% | |
| 49 (tied). Human (2015): 1.44% | |
| 63 (tied). The Economics of Happiness (2011): 1.44% | |
| 63 (tied). Cosmos With Carl Sagan (1980): 1.44% | |
| 63 (tied). The English Surgeon (2009): 1.44% | |
| 63 (tied). The Kid Say's in the Picture (): 1.44% | |
| 63 (tied). Bburzynski (2010): 1.44% | |
| 63 (tied). Civil War (1990): 1.44% | |
| 63 (tied). Why Beauty Matters (2009): 1.44% | |
| 63 (tied). Life Itself (2014): 1.44% | |
| 63 (tied). Sorrow And The Pity (1970): 1.44% | |
| 63 (tied). Metallica: Some Kind of Monster (2004): 1.44% | |
| 63 (tied). Somm (2012): 1.44% | |
| 63 (tied). Searching for Sugar Man (2012): 1.44% | |
| 63 (tied). May I Be Frank (2010): 1.44% | |
| 63 (tied). Valentino: The Last Emperor (2008): 1.44% | |
| 63 (tied). The Trouble with Atheism (2006): 1.44% | |
| 63 (tied). Crumb (1994): 1.44% | |
| 63 (tied). Salesman (1968): 1.44% | |
| 80 (tied). The People Speak (2009): 1.44% | |
| 80 (tied). Deborah 13: Servant of God (2009): 1.44% | |
| 80 (tied). The Last Waltz (1976): 1.44% | |
| 80 (tied). My Winnipig (2007): 1.44% | |
| 80 (tied). Audience of One (2007): 1.44% | |
| 80 (tied). 20 Feet From Stardom (2013): 1.44% | |
| 80 (tied). Happy (2011): 1.44% | |
| 80 (tied). Bill Cunningham New York (2010): 1.44% | |
| 80 (tied). Simply Raw (2009): 1.44% | |
| 80 (tied). Koyaanisqatsi (1982): 1.44% | |
| 80 (tied). Disruption (2014): 1.44% | |
| 80 (tied). Caine's Arcade (2012): 1.44% | |
| 80 (tied). The Improv: 50 Years Behind The Brick Wall (2013): 1.44% | |
| 80 (tied). F For Fake (1973): 1.44% | |
| 80 (tied). Tabloid (2010): 1.44% | |
| 80 (tied). Love, Reality and the Time of Transition (2011): 1.44% | |
| 96 (tied). Vegucated (2011): 1.44% | |
| 96 (tied). Citizenfour (2014): 1.44% | |
| 96 (tied). Chicken Hawk (1994): 1.44% | |
| 96 (tied). The Universe (2007): 1.44% | |
| 96 (tied). Do You Believe in Miracles?(2001): 1.44% | |
| 96 (tied). Spinning Plates (2012): 1.44% | |
| 96 (tied). Big Shot (2013): 1.44% | |
| 96 (tied). This is Spinal Tap (1984): 1.44% | |
| 96 (tied). Surviving Progress (2011): 1.44% | |
| 96 (tied). Fast, Cheap and Out of Control (): 1.44% | |
| 96 (tied). Encounters at the End of the World (2007): 1.44% | |
| 96 (tied). Waltz with Bashir (2008): 1.44% | |
| 96 (tied). The Other Final (2003): 1.44% | |
| 96 (tied). Waiting for Superman (2010): 1.44% | |
| 96 (tied). The Great Everything & the Nothing (2016): 1.44% | |
| 96 (tied). Bus 174 (2002): 1.44% | |
| 96 (tied). The Perfect Vagina (2008): 1.44% | |
| 96 (tied). Control Room (2004): 1.44% | |
| 114 (tied). Microcosmos (1996): 1.44% | |
| 114 (tied). Land of Silence and Darkness (1971): 1.44% | |
| 114 (tied). Food Fight (2004): 1.44% | |
| 114 (tied). Anything But Atheist (2011): 1.44% | |
| 114 (tied). Happy People: A Year In The Taiga (2010): 1.44% | |
| 114 (tied). 5 Broken Cameras (2011): 1.44% | |
| 114 (tied). The Sorrow and the Pity (2001): 1.44% | |
| 114 (tied). George Harrison: Living in the Material World (): 1.44% | |
| 114 (tied). Earthlings (2005): 1.44% | |
| 114 (tied). Carl Sagan's Cosmos (1980): 1.44% | |
| 114 (tied). Stranded (2013): 1.44% | |
| 114 (tied). Best in Show (2000): 1.44% | |
| 114 (tied). The war on democracy (2007): 1.44% | |
| 114 (tied). Talhotblond (2009): 1.44% | |
| 114 (tied). The Corporation (2003): 1.44% | |
| 114 (tied). Taxi to the Dark Side (2017): 1.44% | |
| 114 (tied). I might get Loud (2009): 1.44% | |
| 114 (tied). The Decline of Western Civilization (1981): 1.44% | |
| 132 (tied). Gimme Shelter (2013): 0% | |
| 132 (tied). Best of Enemies (2015): 0% | |
| 132 (tied). Little Dieter Needs to Fly (1997): 0% | |
| Documentaries Movie Ranking Sources | |
| The Guardian | List of top 10 (link) |
| BFI Film Forever | List of top 50 (link) |
| Paste Magazine | List of top 100 (link) |
| Time Out | List of top 50 (link) |
| imdb | List of top rated (link) |
| Rotten Tomatoes | List of top 100 (link) |
| Screen Picks | List of top 20 (link) |
| Listology | List of top 39 (link) |
| Share Ranks | List of top 20 (link) |
| Bold List | List of top 5 (link) |
| PBS | List of top 25 (link) |
| Top Best Box | List of top 20 (link) |
| Ranker | List of top 358 (link) |
| Sky | List of top 100 (link) |
| Film Inquiry | List of top 25 (link) |
| Stylist | List of top 20 (link) |
| Flavorwire | List of top 50 (link) |
| Life Hack | List of top 50 (link) |
| Stuff You Should Know | List of top 40 (link) |
| Flickchart | List of top 4619 (link) |
| Live Learn Evolve | List of top 10 (link) |
| Open Culture | List of top 10 (link) |
| Failed Critics | List of top 10 (link) |
| Ask Men | List of top 10 (link) |
| Listal | List of top 50 (link) |
| The Documentary Blog | List of top 25 (link) |
| Documentary Storm | List of top 100 (link) |
| Self Reliant Film | List of top 25 (link) |
| List Muse | List of top 100 (link) |
| Pop Crunch | List of top 13 (link) |
| Travel Journal | List of top 25 (link) |
| IMDb | List of top 50 (link) |
| IDA | List of top 25 (link) |
| Rain Dance | List of top 10 (link) |
| IFC | List of top 50 (link) |
| Rolling Stone | List of top 40 (link) |
| Kottke | List of top 5 (link) |
| Cupcakes and Cashmere | List of top 10 (link) |
| Thought Catalog | List of top 5 (link) |
| Good Men Project | List of top 5 (link) |
| And so it Begins | List of top 15 (link) |
| The Matinee | List of top 5 (link) |
| List Challenges | List of top 100 (link) |
| Sky Movies | List of top 100 (link) |
| Documentary Heaven | List of top 100 (link) |
| Art and Faith | List of top 50 (link) |
| Sporcle | List of top 30 (link) |
| Films for Action | List of top 100 (link) |
| Taste of Cinema | List of top 20 (link) |
| Film Club | List of top 5 (link) |
| BFI Film Forever | List of top 30 (link) |
| Awards Circuit | List of top 10 (link) |
| The New York Times | List of top 50 (link) |
| The Dissolve | List of top 10 (link) |
| Go Watch it | List of top 47 (link) |
| Kartemquin | List of top 20 (link) |
| Pop Sugar | List of top 25 (link) |
| Metthew L. Powers | List of top 10 (link) |
| The Documentary Blog | List of top 25 (link) |
| Hub Pages | List of top 10 (link) |
| Idea Farm | List of top 100 (link) |
| Letter Boxd | List of top 100 (link) |
| Top 5 | List of top 5 (link) |
| Youth Ki Awaaz | List of top 5 (link) |
| Heavy | List of top 10 (link) |
| Listly | List of top 19 (link) |
| Listal | List of top 39 (link) |
| Movie Film Review | List of top 100 (link) |
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